Withdrawal Policies

Drop or Withdrawal from Course

Effective July 1, 2011, federal regulations pertaining to when a student has withdrawn from a module based semester states that if the student does not complete all courses they were scheduled to attend, the Return of Title IV (R2T4) Fund rules apply. APUS will perform a calculation to determine how much financial aid the student can keep (earned) and notify the student.

For example, if the student drops or withdraws from a course, or fails to begin attendance in a course they were scheduled to attend, the student will be considered withdrawn from the semester and subject to an R2T4.

Students who certify their intent to return at a later date during the same semester at the time of dropping or withdrawing will not require a calculation unless they do not return as indicated.

Withdrawal from the University

Students who elect to withdraw (disenroll) from the university during a semester must do so by dropping or withdrawing from all of their courses in the semester and then completing the Disenrollment Request Form. If a student withdraws or is administratively withdrawn from the university, financial aid may be adjusted based on the percentage of the semester they completed. A portion of the funds may be returned to the Department of Education.

Up through the 60% point in each payment period (semester), a pro rata schedule is used to determine how much Federal Student Aid (FSA) program funds the student has earned at the time of withdrawal.

After the 60% point in the payment period, a student has earned 100% of the FSA program funds.

The percentage of the payment period completed is determined by the total number of calendar days in the payment period for which the assistance is awarded divided into the number of calendar days completed in that period as of the day the student withdrew.

Scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days are excluded from the total number of calendar days in a payment period (denominator) and the number of calendar days completed in that period (numerator).

Return of Title IV Funds

Title IV (Federal Student Aid) funds credited to outstanding loan balances for the payment period for which a return of funds is required must be returned in the following order:

Unsubsidized Direct Stafford loans (other than PLUS loans)

Subsidized Direct Stafford loans

Graduate PLUS loans

Federal Direct PLUS loans (dependent students)

If funds remain after repaying all loan amounts, those remaining funds must be credited in the following order:

Federal Pell Grants for the payment period for which a return of funds is required

Academic Competitiveness Grant & National SMART Grant

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) for which a return of funds is required

Other assistance under this Title for which a return of funds is required

Students will be notified of any refunds due to the Department of Education. Refunds to any of the Title IV or State programs will be paid within 45 days from the date of determination.

Return of Unearned FSA Funds

The school must return the lesser of the following:

The amount of unearned FSA Program funds; OR

The amount of unearned institutional charges

The student (or parent, if a Federal PLUS loan) must return or repay, as appropriate:

Any FSA loan funds in accordance with the terms of the loan

The remaining unearned FSA Program grant (not to exceed 50% of the grant) as an overpayment of the grant

If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement which must be paid within 180 days of the student's withdrawal.

The university is required to return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of the determination of the date of the student's withdrawal.

Students who have FSA funds returned as a result of a drop or withdrawal and now owe money to the institution are notified by e-mail and a ‘Balance Due Hold’ is placed on the account.